Fluorescent light bulbs take on a variety of shapes and sizes—from small compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) with screw-in Edison bases that find frequent use as energy-efficient replacements for incandescent lamps to the ubiquitous 48″ linear fluorescent tube used in innumerable commercial, institutional, and industrial settings. While fluorescent lighting typically provides luminous output at an energy cost that is much less than incandescent lighting, fluorescent lights contain small amounts of mercury which may pose environmental issues if large quantities of lamps are improperly disposed of at the end of life.
Given the large number of fluorescent fixtures installed in commercial, institutional, and industrial establishments, it is desirable to replace fluorescent lamps with other high efficiency, mercury-free lighting solutions having the same form factor so that replacement of the existing fixtures is not necessary. This has led to the development of solid-state replacement lamps which include arrays of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed within hollow tubes. These new solid-state lamps require different construction methods than conventional fluorescent lamps and in particular different means for making electrical connections between the external electrical power connectors of fluorescent fixtures and the internal circuits that power the LEDs.